Bonus Summary

I feel like I have come so far in such a short amount of time. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to discover Web 2.0 in such a fun and creative way. Without a doubt, I know that Mesquite librarians work in the best district. The support that has been given to us by Mary and Debbie and the whole staff at Library Services has been incredible.

This being my first year, I am overwhelmed with all that a librarian actually does. I guess it's much like I felt my first year of teaching. I see that the role of the library and the librarian is changing rapidly. We have to keep up or be left behind. My only option is to keep up. I know that I will continue posting my learning to my blog. I love the idea of keeping an online journal to track my progress and see where I have been. What was life like before Flickr? It's hard to imagine now. My avatar reminds me of why I love being a girl and playing dress up. Myspace connects my professional and personal life. As controversial as that is, I love it. Although, I have to have a time limit or I lose track and get carried away. I know that as I learn more about the library and what my role truly is, I will go back to some of these tools I have discovered and use them. By using Web 2.0 tools in the library, I hope to encourage others to discover some of what the web has to offer.

Thing #23 Creative Commons

Wow, Thing #23. I was not excited about doing this because frankly, dealing with copyright is one of my least favorite things to do. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Creative Commons makes a lot of sense to me. My understanding is that CC gives people the right to protect parts of what they have created or not. I like that it isn't an all or nothing deal. My understanding of fair use has also increased. I learned that fair use can include parodies and spoofs. The main thing is that whatever is being used is different than it was intended to be used as. Wow, that's really hard to explain. This video I found was inmates doing the Thriller dance. Michael Jackson intended for his dance and video to sell records and promote his career. Well, these inmates did not have that intention so it is OK to use the song and dance.

I see that the internet has really changed copyright because information is abundant. You can get almost anything by doing an online search. I like the thought that by working together, we can refine and improve upon already good ideas. CC allows people to add, expand, and edit ideas, pictures, music, and documents to fit different needs. One of the articles I read, said that someone created a commercial for Apple and placed it on YouTube. Instead of suing that person, Apple bought the commercial because they liked it so much. I see CC as a win-win situation.

In the library, this does make things a little more sticky when it comes to copyright. We all have so much yet to learn about how the Internet is going to influence copyright. Changes are happening and we have to go with the flow.

Thing 22 Animoto

This was so much fun. I learned so much from this site. At first when I saw what others had created, I was worried, but it was so easy. I linked my Animoto account to my Flickr account but it was taking forever so I clicked on one of the handy help features and downloaded a program that resizes picture files. This was an great help. It made my picture files much smaller and easier to upload. I didn't quite figure out how to put my own music with the video. I bet I can if I play with it a bit longer. I would love to make a short video for Children's Book Week or one to promote the book fair. The problem I see is sharing the videos with parents or staff. It is so easy to post to a blog or myspace account, but many of these web applications do not seem to go with out Contribute program for the library web pages. I see this as a big obstacle in using these awesome programs with the intent to share with students, parents, and staff. Maybe this is where we realize we have to create a myspace for the library.

Animoto

Thing 21 Podcasts

I learned that the difference between an audio file and a podcast is that a podcast has regular episodes. You must subscribe to a podcasts to have the episodes delievered to your Google Reader or other outlet. I use iTunes so the episodes are saved there for me. I subcribed to Pottercast which discusses all thing Harry Potter. I also signed up for Radio Willow Web which is different grade levels reporting on various topics from fish to ants to sound. Of course you can put the podcasts onto your iPod, but you do not have to. I think this is a great way for students to share what they have learned in a meaningful way for an actual audience. I looked through several podcast directories and found some interesting book reviews and other library podcasts. There is so much out there that it is overwhelming. I would love to use this in the library for book reviews.

Thing 20 YouTube

Wow, I had no idea how much stuff you can find on YouTube. I love the laughing babies. I laughed so hard, I woke my husband up. There is so much that I had trouble narrowing things down. I tried libraries and librarians and got some stuff. I have actually used YouTube at school during research with 5th grade. We watched clips of Man vs. Wild during our Biome unit. The product was to create a list of things you would need in a survival pack for a biome you would choose to live in, so these clips were perfect. Just like anything that you use from the web, you have to be super careful of what content comes up with what you are searching for. When I searched Man vs. Wild, there were many paraody clips that people made. You have to preview everything. It was fun and everyone uses YouTube. Some of the questions for the Presidential debates actually came from YouTube so that tells me that we have to get on board with this and find ways to utilize this service in the classroom and the library.

Thing 19

I tried out 2 different sites for this exercise. The first was Gliffy.
This site allows users to create flowcharts using boxes, circles, and graphics. It is super simple to use. It is a click and drag process. I am wondering if it might work with the Promethean Board. . . I'll have to check when I get back to school. You can create multiflow maps, single flow maps, and even floor plans. I could have used the floor plan application during some of my library classes that required us to draw our library. Students could use this to create dream rooms or houses. Students could create the bedroom of a favorite character. The product of a project could be create what you think Fern's, from Charlotte's Web, bedroom might look like. You can add images by doing a Yahoo search and dragging the images onto the floor plan. Fun and functional!

I also played with Bubbl.us. This is an easy graphic organizer that is very much like Kidspiration. You can type in a main idea and then create bubbles that go with that idea. You can save your documents and make them public if you like. I couldn't find a way to post it to a blog though. There are many obvious ways that you could use this in the library or in the classroom. I think that if I want teachers and kids to use this, I will have to link it to the school library website for easy access.

Thing 18 Web 2.0 Awards

I spent a whole evening looking through this list of Web 2.0 nominees. I have to thank my husband for being such a trooper and helping so much with the kids during this journey. He walks in and I am playing Guess the Google and says,"This is working?" This was one of my favorite finds and it is somewhat addictive. There are 20 Google images and you have to guess the keyword that links them all. I can see kids loving this game. You get more points for typing fast so it could actually enhance typing skills. The vocabulary ranges from simple, like fries, to more complex, like cycle. This makes it multilevel and uses visual critical think skills in a game format. I did not encounter any questionable images in my 5 games.

I read several other blogs that said that One Sentence was fun, so I checked it out. It was intriguing. What a great way to teach word choice to kids. You could also talk about foreshadowing, drawing conclusions, and great beginnings. I read several sentences, but I am still composing mine.

My husband and I love to explore new resturants, theatres, and other quirky places, so Yelp has become an instant favorite of mine. Yelp is a city guide that is composed by real people. You can search for restuarants and read reviews that others have posted. The restuarants are sorted by things like romantic, fun, downtown, ect. There are also reviews for salons and shopping. This is a great site for those who love to get out and about.

POST

Thing 17

Zoho is a great resource that can help teachers and students in many ways!  I have told my husband many times that there needs to be a site where I can save documents at school and pull them up at home without having the Mac/PC combatibility problem.  Now there is!  Hooray!!  I explored and found many premade templates that would be useful in the library or in the classroom.  Zoho also has wiki, spreadsheet, and presentation programs as well as word processing.  You have to register and have an e-mail account, so students might not be able to use this.  I found out quickly that many features did not work using Safari, so I switched to Firefox.  I never received the confirmation e-mail that I was supposed to, either.    I adore these little happy face guys also.  They are too cute and easy to use.    There is also a comment speech bubble that i enjoy playing with.  Practical applications?  Lots!  Now you do not have to spend $100 on a pricey application to download.  Although you can download Google Gears and use the tools without being connected to the Internet.  

Thing 16

The Sandbox wiki was super easy to use and contribute to. I took some time and looked through the entries and ideas. I added several of my own ideas. The idea of learning through play is such an inviting concept. I mean, who doesn't like to play? I think that wikis are easy enough to create and use. However, I think that the teachers on my campus will have to buy into the concept. I always hear, "I don't have time!!!" whenever I approach teachers about using more technology. Someday I hope that teachers can see that by using technology, it can actually make teaching more relevant and practical. If I was in the classroom, I could see creating a homework wiki, where students and teachers could exchange ideas. I am going to create one for our campus for book suggestions. I think that collaboration is the key to student success. Why not rely on the experience and knowledge of an entire community?

Thing 15 Wikis

This video from YouTube really helped me to understand what a wiki is and how it can be used. The important thing about a wiki is that it is a way to collaborate with others. Teachers to teachers, librarians to librarians, students to students, or a mixture of all can easily plan and organize information. A wiki can be used to organize ideas for using books to teach specific skills. There could be a list on a wiki for teaching realistic fiction using children's literature. Teachers can post books that work well for certain grade levels. A wiki can be used to help grade levels communicate daily without calling a formal meeting. There could be a page for math lesson reflections, field trip ideas, or additional resources. Wikis can be used for student teacher communication. Students can post homework. Students can help others in their class. Librarians can use a wiki to communicate about lesson ideas. I think it would be great to have a wiki for Mockingbird books where librarians can post lesson ideas to share. Wikis are easy to create and use. But the important thing about a wiki is that it is a way to collaborate with others.

Thing 14 Library 2.0

The best perspective that I have found on Library 2.0 can be found in this article. It basically says that Library 2.0 is a collaborative way to better meet the needs of your community. My favorite part says that this makes libraries relevant to people's lives, instead of being an afterthought. I could not agree more. The face of the library is changing because communication and information are expanding rapidly. The thing that I love about this project is that I am seeing first hand the amount of time people spend online, searching for answers. Someone could have told me, but I wouldn't have believed it without experiencing it for myself. My philosophy on the library is that we have to join this virtual society so that we can better serve our community. The number of tools that are available on the web is astounding. One big question that is often posed is,"How do we use this in the library?" My question is, "How do we not?" Now that I know it, I can teach it. The cool thing is that I am learning something new and exciting everyday. This reminds me how it feels to learn: uncomfortable, nervous, anxious. Isn't that how kids feel? Sometimes teachers? By stepping into the role of a learner, I am better connected to my school.

During this task, I have relied heavily on the aid of my peers. This has been a huge help to me. Imagine have the help of all the librarians in Texas. Ideas are meant to be shared. Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 allow librarians to expand lessons, ideas, and tips for a better library. I have found so many ideas for things that are relevant to me, such as Bluebonnet Voting ideas. I am looking forward to the Things left to do. . . .

Myspace idea

Today I thought of a way to use myspace to help students analyze characters in books. I think it would be an awesome product for students to make about a main character after completing a book. Students could create a myspace page for that character. Think of all that they could add: songs, friends, graphics, a bio, a blog. There are mood icons. That in itself is a huge vocabulary lesson. I am trying to see how this would look. I guess students could browse some pages or I could copy my page so that they can see what all is included. Students could create a paper myspace page? I haven't exactly figured that part out yet, but I think kids could be wildly creative and really analyze a character. The motivation would be high because myspace is so popular. I read something today from the Library 2.0 sites that said not to wait until something is perfect to share, but to get feedback and continually work on improving an idea.

Thing 13 Social Bookmarking

I will admit that I was a little hesitant on this task. It didn't seem like that big of a deal, but I watched the video and did some exploring. I looked at the MISD page and did some playing there. Then I created my own account. At first, I struggled with what to add. I was almost embarrassed that I do not visit a huge number of websites. And besides that, who would want to see sites I like? So, I started small. I go to the learning 20 blog sites almost daily, so I posted that. That led me to add image chef and other online sign generators. What else have I done that might be interesting? I found a cool flyer from TLA about ideas for Bluebonnet Book voting ideas, so I went back and posted that. My realization was that I was going to have to retrain myself to use this awesome tool. The more I post and search other people's posts, I find this to be a fascinating tool.

In the library, this will be a huge help. So many times when students come to the library or go to the computer lab time is wasted searching for quality websites. I know that kids need to learn to filter websites for themselves, but with the time crunch we feel, I think using the del.icio.us site will benefit students tremendously. It reminds me of filimentality (sp?). Obviously, this could be used to post websites for Internet research. I would love to show students how to create a del.icio.us account and find sites for something that is being studied, such as Ancient Greece. Then students could search other sites for good info. I think teaching kids to tag will improve critical thinking skills. Tagging is essentially coming up with synonyms. This is a skill that is needed in traditional research. A great lesson would be to compare and contrast the way a traditional encyclopedia is organized and how tagging works on del.icio.us. With an encyclopedia, students can be stuck if there is not an article about exactly what is being researched, like midnight ocean zone. Tagging could help students see what else something might be labeled as. This is a great addition to my ever- growing toolbox of web tools. Love it!